Active Business Coaching
Following the TuneUp, most clients enter a long-term engagement with their advisor. The disciplines introduced in the TuneUp need time to build within the organization, and CEO Advantage Advisors bring the experience, expertise, and independent viewpoint to help make sure they do. We intend to be with you for the long haul.

Five Key Philosophies of Active Business Coaching
1. We do not tell our clients what their strategy ought to be. You know your business. You know your industry. Likewise, your strategic vision should be yours. Our job is to provide objectivity, discipline, and accountability to the process of developing and executing your strategy.

2. We spend 80% - 90% of our time with the executive team as a team. The CEO’s success largely depends on the strength of his team – not the individuals on the team, but the team. Executives must be comfortable working together and debating with each other on strategic issues. Only then will enough viewpoints and insights be surfaced for the CEO to make the best possible decisions. Nothing we do brings greater value to the CEO than building a cohesive leadership team. Our ultimate goal is for executives to implement these same principles in their own departments.

3. The best way to develop a cohesive leadership team is by working together on real strategic issues. This process can be uncomfortable because it requires individuals to engage in passionate debate on the issues facing the organization. We sometimes conduct certain assessments and exercises to help team members understand each other better, but that knowledge must be applied in the business context or it will soon be lost.

4. The CEO Advantage process is customized to each organization. The fundamental disciplines and tools are the same for all clients, but our advisors use their professional judgment to determine the right pace and sequence for each team. Advisors may also introduce new content that is philosophically consistent with our approach.

5. Advisor Availability™. Our advisors are available to talk through issues with the CEO at any time. No hourly fees rack up; it’s all included in the standard fee for Active Business Coaching.

Our Jim Collins Story
Soon after his best-selling book, Good To Great, was released, we asked Jim Collins, “Do great companies use outside advisors, and if so, how?” Jim’s paraphrased response was:

Some of the companies that went from good to great used outside advisors, while others did not. Those who did, however, did not ask their advisors to tell them “what to do” or “how to do it.” In short, they did not let outside advisors do their thinking for them. Instead, the great companies used outside advisors in one or both of the following capacities:

1. To give them the “brutal facts” – an assessment of the current reality for the organization, and/or
2. To be a part of the “council” working alongside the executives on some periodic basis to help them wrestle with questions and issues.

Take, for example, the Wells Fargo CEO who asked a partner from McKinsey to work with his organization on long-term strategy as a part of their “council.”  The partner from McKinsey agreed and began lining up a team from McKinsey to work with Wells Fargo.  The Wells Fargo CEO called the McKinsey partner back and stated that there was a misunderstanding.  Wells Fargo did not want McKinsey; they wanted him. 

This story highlights what we do in Active Business Coaching: join the CEO and executive team in their quest to build a great and enduring organization. Sometimes, we have to point out the brutal facts. At all times, we help them wrestle with strategic decisions in the annual and quarterly strategic planning sessions.

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